I climbed the mountain with Father.
It felt like only yesterday that I had climbed a mountain with him right after my return to the past, yet so much had happened since then. If I had to choose just one thing among them, it would be that my relationship with Father had become far better than it had been back then.
So although the same two people were climbing the same mountain, it was clearly a different situation.
“Why did you ask me to come hunting?”
“I wanted to spend time with you, Father.”
Father stopped walking and looked back at me. Because I meant it sincerely, I was able to meet his gaze calmly.
Father, when I returned and saw you sitting in the taishi chair, I really did feel tears welling up.
Father started walking again and asked me,
“Why did you bring so much baggage?”
“As you saw last time, they’re all necessary things. They may be inconvenient now, but later they’ll make our bodies comfortable and our mouths happy.”
Father walked ahead again. I quietly followed behind him.
At first, when I said, Let’s go hunting together, I thought I would chatter away like a talkative fool, but once I was actually with Father, I found I had little to say.
Fortunately, even walking like this in silence wasn’t awkward at all. No, if anything, it felt as if we were sharing a wordless conversation, and I liked it even more.
Suddenly, a thought came to me.
I had no intention of marrying in this life either, but if I did marry and have a child, would there come a day when I went hunting like this with my son? Could I become the kind of father to whom my son could comfortably say, “Father, let’s go hunting”?
Would my son also walk behind me like this and think these thoughts? And what was Father thinking right now?
After walking for quite some time like that, I broke the silence.
“The Murim Alliance Leader said he wanted to meet you, Father.”
I had already reported my meeting with the Murim Alliance Leader by letter, so Father knew about it.
“Was he well?”
“He was hale for his age. His personality was fierce, and his martial arts were domineering. He was quite different from the Alliance Leader I’d imagined.”
“He is not the man the rumors make him out to be.”
“The Alliance Leader said he wanted to see you, Father. So I told him you would likely feel the same, but he said you wouldn’t. He said you would want to kill him.”
“He knows me well.”
“Are you serious?”
“Did you think the Demonic Cult Leader would yearn for the Murim Alliance Leader?”
“There could be courtesy toward the head of the opposing camp, respect as a martial artist, things like that.”
“There is no such thing. Respect as a martial artist only comes after crossing hands.”
“Do you want to fight the Alliance Leader?”
After a brief pause, Father answered.
“He is someone I would like to face at least once.”
Victory in that fight would mean the death of the other. If the Heavenly Demon and the Murim Alliance Leader clashed, it would not end with them brushing dust off their clothes.
And the result would change the fate of the entire murim. That was why this fight could not easily come to pass.
I knew that Father dreamed of unifying all under heaven. Since the topic of the Alliance Leader had come up, I took the chance to probe Father’s intentions.
“If our cult and the Righteous Faction clash, will the Evil Dao Alliance side with us?”
“If you think the Evil Dao Alliance is closer to us than to the Righteous Faction, you are mistaken.”
“They aren’t?”
“If the Evil Dao Alliance had to join hands with either us or the Murim Alliance, they would join hands with the Righteous Faction.”
“Is there a reason you’re so certain?”
“Because the Evil Dao Alliance hates us more than they hate the Righteous Faction. They probably want to erase us and then divide the murim with the Righteous Faction.”
I thought Father was right. Before my return, I had once spoken with a master from the Evil Faction. He truly hated our cult as well, and the reason was simple. He said that as the Demonic Cult came to symbolize true evil, the Evil Dao Alliance had been reduced to an organization pursuing cheap villainy.
Why should the Evil Dao Alliance not become the master of the murim?
It had been nothing more than the lament and personal opinion of a single Evil Faction master, but at the time, I had thought many Evil Faction people might harbor similar thoughts. Perhaps the Evil Dao Alliance’s hatred toward our cult that Father spoke of had begun from that very place.
I did not bother to dissuade Father from his ambition. In any case, we would have to wage war at least once. The target simply would not be the Murim Alliance or the Evil Dao Alliance, but Hwa Mugi.
“Father, you must grow stronger too!”
That evening.
We settled down in a quiet place where a stream flowed.
I laid out thick leather in a spot where Father could comfortably lean back and lie down. It was the most important item among all the baggage I had carried.
After preparing a comfortable place for Father to sleep, I lit a campfire and cooked the game we had caught.
I did not simply sprinkle on some salt and eat enough to fill our bellies; I properly grilled it with the seasonings I had prepared in advance. This time, I had brought not only the secret seasoning Cook Im had made, but also various vegetables and foods.
“How does it taste?”
“It is all right.”
Of course it was. Through Cook Im, I had learned in advance what flavors Father liked and prepared the seasoning accordingly.
After we finished eating, I served him tea. The tea, too, was one Father liked. Seeing Father’s satisfied expression as he drank it made me think I had done well to prepare it.
“Has the Wind God Four Steps reached the ninth stage?”
As expected, Father had seen through my accomplishment at once.
“Yes. While fighting the Heavenly Mandate Society, I felt something, but unfortunately, it did not lead to great completion.”
It felt as though I had almost arrived, yet it was still distant—a truly far yet near sensation.
“If you grow impatient, it will only become slower.”
“I will keep that in mind. Would you like another cup of tea?”
Father nodded, and I poured him another cup of warm tea.
“Do you find it fun to spend time with me?”
We had truly made a great deal of progress. Father was asking me questions like this now. At times like this, there was one principle I recalled: do not think of deceiving Father.
“To be honest, how could it be fun? I’m inevitably cautious and burdened.”
“Then why did you ask me to come?”
“Because I feel reassured.”
Father looked at me with an unexpected expression. I calmly conveyed what was in my heart.
“When I’m with you, Father, I feel so reassured. No matter what bastard blocks our path, you will stop them all, won’t you? Even if something that isn’t human but a monster appears, if it’s you, Father, you’ll stop it, won’t you? When I’m simply with you, my heart feels at ease. I don’t have to protect you, I don’t feel the burden of having to make that person mine, and I don’t feel the responsibility of making someone who sacrifices for me happy. This moment, when no matter what happens, I can simply stay still, feels so comfortable. Because you are here, Father, I feel reassured.”
It was truly how I felt. Perhaps because he had not expected it, Father looked at me with slightly deepened eyes.
“Father, are you not lonely?”
At my question, Father snorted. It was a question unlikely to receive an answer, but when would I ever get to ask such a thing again?
Father lay down on the ground as if to say we should sleep. After lying there for a while and looking up at the night sky, Father suddenly spoke.
“I have never once been lonely.”
To me, it sounded like this.
I am always lonely.
And so the first day of hunting with Father passed.
* * *
On the second day, we wandered more comfortably than on the first. We spoke almost not at all, but neither Father nor I found it awkward.
We simply climbed the mountain together, walked along narrow paths, and then rested by a valley. Hunting was not the main purpose; we simply strolled and rested together.
That evening, as I was about to roast the meat we had hunted, Father came to my side.
“I will try.”
“Try what? Surely you don’t mean to cook?”
“Why would I not?”
“You, Father, cooking?”
As I stared in shock, Father asked calmly,
“Why are you so surprised?”
“Have you ever cooked before?”
“I do sometimes.”
At those unbelievable words, I was startled.
“By any chance, is there a martial art among the demonic arts called Cooking? That’s what you mean, right?”
“Enough nonsense!”
How could I not spout nonsense when Father said he was going to cook?
“When a dish doesn’t suit your taste, you kill the cook, don’t you? Do you perhaps cook on those days out of a sense of atonement?”
“But my cook’s skill is far too exceptional to kill him for that, is it not?”
“You really cook?”
As if to show me himself, Father began cooking. And he truly cooked with practiced ease. He did not roast the meat whole, but cut only the tasty parts and stir-fried them with vegetables and mushrooms. And as if to prove that he really did cook in ordinary times, he even made soup alongside it.
What was even more surprising was that it tasted excellent.
“What is this? Why is it delicious? Did you perhaps secretly pour Kongqing Stone Milk on it instead of seasoning?”
A smile passed over Father’s lips. It was the first smile he had shown since we climbed the mountain.
It was the moment I learned of a side of Father I had never known at all.
The Heavenly Demon of this generation was a cooking Heavenly Demon.
That night, lying on opposite sides of the campfire, Father and I talked about this and that. I was mostly the one bringing up topics while Father responded, and naturally, the Demon Venerables had to come up.
“As you know, Father, on my side are the Blood Heaven Blade Demon, the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon, the One-Blossom Sword Venerable, and the Drunken Demon Lady. On my brother’s side are the Demon Buddha, the Poison King, and the Fist Demon. I’ve set aside the young Soul-Capturing Demon Venerable for now. What do you think? My side looks advantageous, doesn’t it?”
“It is evenly matched.”
“Even though we have one more person, it’s evenly matched?”
“Yes.”
If we were evenly matched despite their side lacking one person, that meant among the Demon Buddha, the Fist Demon, and the Poison King, someone was worth two people. Just whom did Father think so highly of?
“Is it time to drive out the loafer on our side?”
Even at my joke, Father said no more about it. He was telling me to experience it myself and suffer a little. Just whom had he had in mind?
“Why are you trying to become the Cult Leader?”
Because it is my mission. Because it is the mission I suffered my whole life for and even returned to the past to fulfill. I will protect it even if I have to die.
“Because I want to learn the Nine Flames Demonic Art.”
“Why are you so obsessed with the Nine Flames Demonic Art?”
“I’m not obsessed with the Nine Flames Demonic Art. I’m obsessed with becoming stronger.”
“You are already strong enough. What will you do by becoming even stronger?”
“I have to become stronger so I can protect everyone.”
Father, and my brother. Everyone in the Heavenly Demon Hall.
And perhaps a few more people would be added to that. In the past, they had not stepped forward, but now, among the Demon Venerables, some would truly step forward for revenge.
But Father’s thoughts were firm.
“I will pass down the Nine Flames Demonic Art only to the person who will become the Heavenly Demon.”
“Then I will become the Heavenly Demon.”
Just as Father’s resolve was firm, so was mine.
Father looked at me for a moment, then soon turned his back and went to sleep.
“And even if I become the Heavenly Demon, I will become a different Heavenly Demon from you, Father. A Heavenly Demon who freely roams the world. Though to do that, I will have to work far harder.”
* * *
On the third day, Father headed for the summit of Daecheon Mountain.
On the way up the mountain, I sensed the presence of tigers twice. But I pretended not to know. It was to leave myself an excuse to come hunting again next time.
If I had sensed them, Father surely had as well, but Father did not suggest we catch the tigers either. Perhaps Father, too, was looking forward to the next hunt.
“Ah, was the summit always this magnificent?”
The scenery seen from the summit of Daecheon Mountain was truly like something out of a painting.
“When I was your age, I would come up here whenever martial training became difficult.”
Imagining Father standing here in his youth gave me a strange feeling.
“I should come up here from time to time as well when training frustrates me.”
“Come here for a moment.”
“Yes.”
Father sat on a broad rock at the summit and gave me a discourse on the Flying Heaven Sword Art.
It was a martial art in which I had already attained great completion at the twelfth stage, and what I needed to learn now was the Wind God Four Steps. Yet despite knowing that, Father spoke to me about the Flying Heaven Sword Art.
As if all martial arts were ultimately connected as one, and if one fully understood what one knew best, one could find a clue to understanding the rest.
It was a very special moment: one who had attained great completion at the twelfth stage giving a discourse on the Flying Heaven Sword Art to another who had also attained great completion at the twelfth stage.
And I had a new experience. I had naturally thought I would understand everything he said, but there were many parts that differed from my own thoughts. I realized that even at the same level of great completion, the paths taken to reach the destination could be very different.
Whenever I came across something I couldn’t understand, I asked Father without hesitation. I did not pretend to know what I didn’t. Nor did I deliberately feign ignorance. I simply let the conversation flow as naturally as water, following the current of my own thoughts.
What I had thought would be a brief discussion on martial learning continued even after three sichen had passed, then four. It continued for a day, then two, and then three.
We kept talking while eating the food we had prepared, while drinking tea, and even while drinking the liquor we had brought for the final day. When we ran out of food and went hunting, we still talked; even as we roasted meat over the campfire, we spoke of martial learning. Both Father and I became completely immersed in the conversation.
At first, it had begun as a discussion of the Flying Heaven Sword Art, but we ended up debating every aspect of martial learning as a whole. It was an in-depth discussion between Father, the Heavenly Demon, and me, a regressed Heavenly Martial Body.
When that long discussion spanning three days finally ended, I sprang to my feet and unfolded the Wind God’s Four Steps. And then I knew. At last, I could properly take the four steps walked by the god of wind.
I spoke to Father with a startled expression.
“The Wind God’s Four Steps has reached Great Completion.”
As if he had anticipated this very situation, Father was not surprised. He had grabbed me by the collar and hurled me straight into Great Completion.
I bowed deeply to Father.
“It is all thanks to your immense guidance. Thank you, Father. Truly.”
“Get up. Let us head down now.”
“Yes.”
I was seized by an intense desire to run. How fast would my swift footwork be now that it had reached Great Completion? Was it a speed I could withstand? How much smaller had the Central Plains become? I was curious about all of it.
“Father. Let’s have a race. From here to the main sect. What do you say?”
At long last, I had earned the right to pit myself against Father’s Heavenly Demon Flight Art.
Father looked at me with a scornfully amused expression. Why did I like that expression so much?
“What will you wager?”
“Our pride, of course.”
“Very well.”
Since losing would mean nothing to me, the terms were overwhelmingly in my favor, yet Father accepted readily all the same. He must have intended to win and tease me for it.
Father and I stood side by side. Perhaps I had not often stood beside him like this and looked at his profile. His face felt new to me all over again. This moment, racing side by side with Father, made me indescribably happy.
“Now, we start on three. One, two…”
I counted three after I had already set off. That way, if I won, Father would have something to say about it.
As the two pinnacle movement arts began to cleave through space, a sound of wind unlike anything I had ever heard in my life began to reach my ears.